getting started - introduction

[redsmurf]

just getting started in the fun process of growing my own mushrooms, going to start with a few basic variaties working up to more exotic ones as i go.

unfortunatly the local condidtions have been unfriendly with temps hovering around the the 40 mark.

looking for input on how adverse this will be and ways to negate it other than waiting for it to pass which will be my default stance

[Bert&Ernie]

I have no idea about mushrooms... I am more of a cactus guy myself but just thought id say welcome and I like your avatar

[LokStok]

Welcome.

obviously your talking about growing non-actives ie. edible/gourmet

this time of year tropical/semi-tropical oyster mushrooms are the go-

Pleurotus d'jamor (pink oyster). Fungi Culture did have culture of this for sale. Email them. The owner is a member of this community.

P. citrinopileatus (golden oyster). A member did have a culture of this for trade not too long ago. If he sees this and still has it he may contact you.

P. pulmonarius (phoenix oyster). This is fairly common, I may still have a viable plate somewhere, I'll have a look 2moro. If not, some-one will.

[Amazonian]

G'day redsmurf...Welcome to the Forum

Good luck with your fungi growing...Much to learn, many a mistake to make, but hopefully in the end, you get a fry pan of fruit . Just need to keep a cow for fresh butter, and grow some garlic, and your set,lol.

[redsmurf]

G'day redsmurf...Welcome to the Forum

Just need to keep a cow for fresh butter

 

now i have Denis Leary in my head, carve of what i want and ride the rest home

[mutant]

welcome

dont do it during summer, unless you got an aircondition in the room to cool things off during summer

[redsmurf]

well summer is not the ideal time, though right now is a heat wave so absolute no go, just wondering what are the cut off marks you use for your grows.

also looking for medicinals to help with BPAD and the associated complications i suffer from it and the medication to try and regulate it.

also think i know at least one person on here already but it won't let me PM them yet, is this an issue with the forum or a rule in place

[dionysus]

try pm now redsmurf, i think a 3 post minimum before you can do this as an anti spam measure welcome to the forums

[mutant]

I am not really into growing - yet. I had done a an attempt ome summers back and stupidly the colonisation of the substrate stoped due to excessive heat. do it on automn weather

[dalegardener]

Great thread for me as I am also new here and new to growing edible mushrooms! I had oysters in mind for the moment so its great to hear my thoughts echoed from a more knowledgeable source, but with the recent heat I might hold off for a little while yet and learn as much as I can here

[Bigred]

can help you out with edibles just pm me

[trucha]

Whether it is and if so how much of a problem depends on what you are growing.

Too much heat can cause problems of a few sorts including aiding contaminants' to grow.

Shutting down during high heat is not a bad idea if you can't regulate the heat.

Or switch your chosen species for different seasons (paddy straw can be a good choice for hot seasons) and keep your master cultures in a thermos container inside of your refrigerator during their downtime. Assuming they can tolerate refrigeration - some of the oysters won't.

I've successfully stored excess shiitake mycelium on grain in jars for months at a time and still had vigor when transferring onto sawdust.

Depending on what range you need, an evaporative cooler might be able to be helpful. Or a root cellar with supplemental lighting might work.

Once you have to add environmental controls your cost for growing shoots up dramatically. Fine if you are a pure hobbyist or are obsessive about something finicky (I kept air conditioning on some cloned Hericium corolloides on sawdust in bags for months just to be able to not lose momentum).

Let's say you do decide to go with AC though. I'll mention something I have not yet tried but which is in the plans.

A walk-in cooler can be created using a *regular air conditioner* (if at least 18,000 BTU) and rigid foam board insulation with a special controller called a CoolBot. These monitor the output from the AC and trick it into dropping far below their minimum cutoff point (down to 2C or 35F is claimed). If you take time to be sure you have no air leaks these are purported to be quite cost efficient. I'm in the process of preparing to move but as soon as that is accomplished I intend to build a cold room for Hericium using this approach. I would have done so already if not for that looming move. I'll post the results.

[NSF]

Do not be afraid of high temps. Shiitake love the high temps. My oysters are still producing lovely bouquets. I'm in Melbourne and we've had a few days in the forties and it has been very dry. I just heard a few drops of rain, the first for about 4 weeks. In the last couple of weeks I've had agaricus, agrocybe, nebrodensis, shiitake and oysters.

The other thing you need to consider is that 8 weeks from now you are heading in to Autumn which is perfect conditions. So you should be trying to produce as much substrate now and inoculate it, by the time it colonises you'll welcome the cooler weather with open arms.

I'm more than happy to help you out. I can even supply you some spawn if you are looking for it.

My grow room is just a few bits of green house plastic under the deck, it isn't temp controlled and the breeze gets in there, drying it out. My humidity is pumped in but it's only on a timer.